“Do you want me to come along?”
Tessa paused. Was it her imagination, or did she hear a hint of reluctance in Jilly’s voice? Was her friend afraid to be alone with her? “Sure, if you want. I’d love a second opinion.”
“All right. Just tell me when. Are you coming to work Monday?”
“No. I’ve decided to quit my job.”
“It won’t be the same without you.”
“I’m going to miss it, but . . . I just don’t think I can handle it right now.” It had been difficult being around her parents, listening to the sound of their hearts, smelling their blood. How much worse would it be in a crowded office building, surrounded by coworkers and people she didn’t know? What if she couldn’t control the urge to feed? What if Katerina came looking for her?
“I understand, I guess. Listen, I need to go make Luke’s lunch . . . anyway, I’m free any night you want to go dress shopping.”
“Okay, talk to you soon. Tell Luke hi for me.”
Tessa’s next call was to Bailey, but she didn’t answer the phone, so Tessa left a message, then went into the bathroom to fill the tub, thinking a nice hot bubble bath was just what she needed.
She was relaxing in the tub, eyes closed, up to her chin in lavender-scented bubbles, when Andrei slipped into the tub behind her. She sighed as his arms slid around her to make a slow exploration of her body from her hips to her shoulders, lingering at the interesting hills and valleys in between.
There was magic in his touch and she moaned with pleasure as his hands drifted over her skin.
He nipped at her ear, then nuzzled her neck. And all the while his hands moved over her, arousing her. When she thought she might burst with wanting him, he rose in a single fluid motion with her in his arms and carried her to bed.
At any other time, she might have worried about dripping soapy water on the mattress, but not now, when she was on fire for him.
He fell back on the mattress with her straddling his hips and it was her turn to tease and touch and taste until, with a wordless growl, he rolled over, carrying her with him. His eyes burned with heat as his body melded with hers, the fire between them so intense she was surprised the sheets didn’t go up in flames.
And then there was only wave upon wave of sensual pleasure beyond words or description, and Andrei’s voice, whispering that he loved her, would always love her.
* * *
Later, after Tessa had fallen asleep, Andrei returned to the ruin that was his former lair. He picked his way through the debris, quietly cursing Katerina. He’d had a fortune in antique furniture and paintings, pieces he had collected in the last seven hundred years. His insurance would cover the cost of rebuilding the house, but the paintings by some of the Old Masters—Botticelli, da Vinci, Raphael, Tintoretto—could never be replaced.
The stairs leading down to his lair were gone but it was an easy jump for a vampire. He brushed aside the wreckage of his bed, revealing a floor safe. It opened with a creak of protest. He withdrew several small velvet bags, a metal box, and an ornate sheath that held a silver-bladed knife. The weapon had been doused in holy water and blessed by an Italian bishop over five hundred years ago. The hilt was encrusted with rubies that glittered like drops of fresh blood in the pale shaft of moonlight that penetrated the gloom in his lair.
It was an antique more valuable than anything else he had ever owned—an ancient, deadly weapon crafted solely to destroy master vampires.
He felt the power of the blade hum in his hands as he turned it over. He had acquired it a century ago, solely for the purpose of destroying his sire.
Chapter Forty-Six
Tessa called her boss first thing Monday morning to tell him that, due to a sudden illness, she was quitting her job. She apologized for the short notice. Mr. Ambrose was both annoyed and sympathetic, and assured her that he would make certain she received whatever funds were owed her. To her surprise, he told her there would be a place for her should she ever wish to return.
After disconnecting the call, she returned to bed. Though she could be awake during the day, she sometimes found it difficult to stay awake when the sun was up.
“It’s more normal for you to rest during the day,” Andrei had told her on more than one occasion. “That will change as you get older.”
“But you prefer being awake during the day,” she’d said. “And I want to be with you.”
“Not so, my love. I only kept those hours to be with you.”
She smiled as she slid into bed beside him. He had been unusually quiet and withdrawn since returning home. She knew he was upset over what Katerina had done, but then, who could blame him?